Electric switch



H. S. FREEMAN AND F. ZENKER.

memo sw11cH. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24,1917.

Patented Deu.13, 1921.

5] vwmwtozo 071% v Z a m %j hew g 1 I I UNITED STATES PALIEN'EZ orrice.

HARRY S. FREEMAN. OF DETROIT, AND FREDRICK ZENKER. OF HIGHLAND PARK, IIIICHIGAN. ASSIGNORS T0 SQUARE COMPANY. OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN. A COR- PQRATION OF MICHIGAN.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it linown that we, HARRY S. FREEMAN, a citizen of the l nited States. residing at Detroit. in the county of \Yayne and State of Michigan. and Fnnmucit ZRXKER. a s ll)- ject of the Emperor of Germany. residing at Highland Park. in the county of \Yayne and State of Michigan. have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Electric Switches. of which the following 15 a specification.

This invention relates to electric switches and with regard to certain more specific features thereof to combined fuse-holding and circuit-operating devices.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide a simple and durable fuse-holding switch of the nature above specified.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of inexpensive and otherwise improved contacts and fuse-retaining means which shall be reliably ellicient in operation and which may be'assembled and disassembled by relatively"unskilled workmen.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of simplified and otherwise improved ,means for pivotally associating certain of said contacts.

' Another object of our invention is to pro vide a fuse-holding switch which may be readily assembled from parts. the majority of which are of standard construction. As such partsmay be produced by the usual machinery. they are cheaper than special parts which have heretofore been used. and in addition the current carrying capacities of these standard parts and their proper construction is well known. A completehne of our improved type of switches may be built from a comparatively small number of standard pieces along with a few special parts' i Another object of our invention is to reduce the size of fuse-holding switches as much as possible. Our switch need be no longer than the fuse it carries and no wide than he diameter of the fuse.

Another object of our invention is to improve fuse-holding switches by eliminating all unnecessary resistances, whlch may be done byjshortening the current paths to a minimum.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented l'h lg 1921 Application filed October 24, 1917.

Serial N0. 198,256.

Other objects will be' in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

ll'hilc our invention may take .form in many dill'erent embodiments, we will describe in detail one of these embodiments showing a construction having one convenient arrangement of parts and combination of elements for building up a switch. The scope of our invention is. however. to be limited solely by the claims and the prior state of the art.

In the accompanying drawings wherein is shown one of variou possible embodiments of the invention.

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of an electric switch comprisi 1g features of the invention:

Fig. '2 is a front elevational view of Fig. 1';

Fig. 3 is a view in section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 but with the fuse detached;

Fig; 5 is a view in section taken on the line 5-.5 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing wherein similar reference characters indicate similar parts throughout the several views. there is indicated at 1 a base of insulating material upon which there are fixed spaced apart clip contacts 2 and 3. Substantially surrounding the clip contact 2 there is a compression member or clip 4 for purposes which will hereinafter be set forth. The clip contact 2jis in 'the form shown made from a standard knife blade clip contact and comprises a flat comparatively wide base portion 10 and oppositely disposed up wardly extending walls 11. which are bowed inwardly ms indicated at 12 to form spaced compression jaws 13. The compression member 4; is also provided with a relatively wide base portion 14 and upwardly extending side walls 15 bowed inwardly to provide substantially parallel compression walls 16. each. of which carries a riveted compression stud 17 the inner end of which is of frusto-conical shape and is adapted to seat within a cupshaped aperture 18 in each pivotal stud 19. The pivot studs are loosely mounted in apertures 20 in the jaws or walls 13 of the clip contact 2 and each pivot stud is provided with a suitable shoulder to limit the projec 'gofand contacts of the welltion of the stud inwardly fronithe wal1s.l3.-

- placement by means of a screw 26 passed through from-the opposite side wall of-the base, and bi'npling the connector strip -5 and a'terminal 6 together and to the base l. This provides a two-point attachment forthe connector strip 5 which is rectangular in shape and the side wallsof which are adapted to engage with the side walls 11 of the clip contact. 2 and prevent angular movement of the latter; Angular displacement of the compression member is also restricted by the.

side walls 11 of theclip contact in turn resting proximate the side walls 15'of the com.- pression member. By the construction just described the parts are all firmly secured in electrical communication and also are firmly 0 held against displacement relatively to the base 1. The screw 25 serves as a binding post and to this end it is provided with a nut27i" 2 It will be noted that a lower connecting 1 5, strip 5C is bent upwardly as at 5 to provide a'stop for aclip 42 and a fuse blade 54; as shown in Fig. 5. The contact 3 is in the form shown a standard clip contact of the [type used for receii'ing a knife blade and is formed witha fiat relatively wide base portion 28 and upstanding side walls 29 each of which is bowed inwardly and down projections 31- serve as contact. jaws and preferably are spaced to receive another clip contact with suitable contacting compres sion. The base 28 of the clip contact 3 is mounted directly on the, insulating base], and is secured thereto by a screw 33 which is passed through from the opposite side of the base, and tapped into connector strip 5. This connector-strip is also secured by a screw 34, corresponding'to the screw 25. The rectangular side walls of the connector strip5' prevent angular displacement of the clip" contact 3, and the screw serves as a binding post for another terminal 6.

- The structure so far described isintended 'as a substitute generally for the base block knife-blade switch. The st cture of the present invention intended as a substitute for the pivotal knife-blade will now be de scribed. Y

. connect the base contactsf 2 and3.

own pivotal At 40 there is indicated a carrier or what may be termed-abridging element or bridge,

in that'one of its functions is to span the spaced apart clip contacts 41 and 42 and by pivotal movement of these. contacts, as will hereinafter be described,.-'to mechanically This bridging element is preferably of insulation I but it may be of metal,possiblyofyelectrical conductivity provided thec'oiltacts 41 {and 42 are suitably insulated. :The clip. contactsiof the bridging elementare secured thereto by meansof screws 43 passed through from the opposite side of the bridging. element and? tappedtintofsquare nuts 44. Each of the clipcontacts 41 and 42 is of the usual type and comprises pairs of spaced parallel compression jaws 45, and 45, respectively, the Y former pair-being apertured to receive the inwardly projecting portion of the pivoted studs 19. .By-..slightly compressing the jaws 45 this assembly-can be made after w-hich the bridging element may be pivotally'moved J by means of ahandle 50 to cause engagement and disengagement .of .the clip contact 42 with the clipcontact 3 of the base.

52 of fiber or some suitable insulating mateknife-blade terminals 54" projecting out"- fmve may -d ac y'atmched tothe midi-ring element- 40 y rcin the knife spectively "These walls are'so spaced asto -exert substantial pressure on the flat knifeblade terminals when the" fuse is attached in 105 x order that there will be good, electrical and wardlyas indicated at 30. The downward retainingponnection. uThefinsertion of the fuse terminals between thewalls forces them out to cause their outer surfacesto engage "friction. Y

The upwardly bent part 5*.0f "the connector strip 5 cooperates with the-clip 42 when in the closed position to form a stop. It, therefore, prevents the wedging apart 'of projections 3- lby the inwardly bowed portions 42. The prevention of such wedging' is important as. otherwise the projections 31 might be. forced apart and a poor contact with excessive heating result. This is clearly shown i-n'Fig. 5. v

When the switch is closed rapidly, the 'c'arri er is brought to an abrupt stop. As the 125 fuse, however, is merely retained by the friction ofthe clip 42, it tends to continue in its movement. The stop 5, however, limits this v A fuse 51 is 'providedof the inclosed type preferablyof cartridge form having a'shell 1 00 blade terminals between the opposing walls 45 and 45 of the clip contacts 41 and 42, re

assembly of the pivoted structure.

motion and prevents 'dislodging the blade from the clip. The same element, therefore, is used to act as a stop for the carrier and for the fuse.

2 and -11. yet said member is sufficiently yieldable to allow quick and convenient dis- In operation the fuse may be attached or detached without disassembling the pivot and the jaws or walls of the clip contacts are so spaced and arranged as to have their maximum contact and retaining efficiency when the fuse is attached and the switch is closed. Obviously the closing of the switch completes a circuit from one of the terminals 8 to the other through the fuse 51, the insulating properties of the base 1 and the bridging element 40preventing any other path of electrical communication.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and as many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof. it is intended that all matter set forth in the foregoing'description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is 1. In a. switch, in combination, a bridge, clip contacts mounted thereon having open parallel jaws, a cartridge fuse having flattened terminals that are held in frictional engagement with said contacts by passing the flattened terminals between the said. open parallel jaws, a base and contacts fixed thereon, comprising jaws lu brace the jaws of the clip contacts of said bridge with the interposed flattened terminal of the fuse.

2. Ina switch, in combination, a bridge, clip contacts mounted thereon having spaced parallel and resilient jaws, a cartridge fuse having flattened terminals connectible to said contacts by frictionally engaging the flattened terminals with said parallel jaws, a base, contacts fixed thereon comprising spaced and parallel jaws "adapted to receive the clip contacts of said bridge with said flat comprising spaced and apertured jaws, and

compression members bearing 'thereon, means comprlsmg spaced and alined pivot studs for sever'ally'and pivotally connecting,

together said clip contacts through their base contact.

apted to em apertiired jaws, a third-clip contact mounted on said base and having jaws, a fourth clip contact secured to, said bridge and having spaced walls. and an inclosed fuse element havingmeans'for passing between the opposed ends of said pivot studs and for engaging said third and fourth contacts be tween the spaced walls thereof.

at. In a switch, a base. a pair of spaced apart contacts mounted thereon, a bridging element having a pair of contacts spaced apart and relatively insulated, a cartridge fuse having fiat knife-blade terminals, the base contacts having jaws for receiving within them the bridging element contacts, and the latter said contacts comprising jaws for detachably receiving within them thefuse terminals, and means comprising alined and spaced apart pivot studs and a compression device bearing against said studs on opposite sides of one of said base contacts for pivotally securing one of the bridging element contacts to a cooperating 5. Ina switch, in combination, a base having mounted thereon a contact having parallel spaced apart jaws andprovided with outwardly bowed portions, a carrier having mounted thereon a second contact having vparallel spaced apart jaws and provided with outwardly bowed portions, said last mentioned jaws being receivable within the first mentioned jaws, and means for limiting the motion of the second jaws within the first jaws and preventing the separation of the first set by the bowed portions of the second set; substantially as described.

, 6. In an electric switch, in combination, a base; a carrier, two contacts on each spaced apart to form pairs, one contact of each pair being receivable within the other contact of the corresponding pair, one of the receiving contacts being resilient to closely press the other contact of the pair, and means comprising a spring adjacent the other-receiving contact to press that contact toward the other contact of the second pair; substantially as described.

7. In'an electric switch, the combination with an inclosed fuse element having end caps that are severally provided with lategrally formed fiat terminals, an insulating carrier, contact members mounted on said carrier and having parallel spaced and resilient j aw-members to frictionally engage on their inner faces said flat'terminals of the fuse element, of a base member comprising contact members having spaced resilient jaw-members that are adapted to receive in frictional engagement the jawmembers of the carrier contact members with the interposed fiat terminals of said fuse element, and means for pivotally securing the" said carrier to said base member.

- ing surfaces and in-.s1idin g engagement 8. In an electric swi teh," the -comhinafiion" with twb 'coiiperating contact members, each having fiat spaced resilient jaw-portions the opposed suifaces-of which are parallelv m'oome therewith the jawportions 0f the othef contact member, and a flatconducting terminal interposed between, and frictionally 10 engaging wlth, the opposil lg surfaces of the jaw-portions 0f said second contacf member.

- HARRY S; 'FREEHAN;

"FREDRICK ZENKER. 

